The longer you live and the more you learn, the more clearly you will feel the difference between the few men who are truly great and the mere virtuosi.

In his three seasons he had performed around 80 different works which included pieces by relatively unknown composers such as Hermann Goetz Wilhelm Kienzl and the Italian Lorenzo Perosi. A second daughter Anna was born in 1904. In spite of numerous theatrical triumphs Mahler's Vienna years were rarely smooth; his battles with singers and the house administration continued on and off for the whole of his tenure.

A Jew he was born in the village of Kalischt Bohemia in what was then the Austrian Empire now Kaliště in the Czech Republic. His family later removed to nearby Iglau (now Jihlava) where Mahler grew up. Aside from early works such as a movement from a piano quartet composed when he was a student in Vienna Mahler's works are designed for large orchestral forces symphonic choruses and operatic soloists.